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min answer › question first answered

2018-09-13T13:39:43.543Z

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<p>We have a longstanding relationship with the Prison Advice and Care Trust (PACT),
and we recognise the crucial role that they, and other Voluntary and Community Sector
(VCS) organisations, carry out in supporting offenders and delivering rehabilitative
services. I am pleased to note, too, that PACT have recently been awarded the contract
for the provision of family engagement services for the female estate.</p><p>We will
continue to engage with PACT as we take forward Lord Farmer’s recommendations as part
of our wider prison reform agenda.</p>

<p>Our Consulate General in Jerusalem regularly meets a variety of religious leaders
in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and has stressed to the Palestinian Authority
the importance of protecting freedom of religion and belief. Freedom of religion and
belief remains a human rights priority for this Government. It is a fundamental freedom
which underpins many other human rights.</p>

<p>​Freedom of religion and belief continues to be a priority for this Government.
We are pleased that the Israeli Government, including Prime Minister Netanyahu and
President Rivlin, have publicly highlighted their commitment to ensuring freedom of
religion and belief in Israel.</p>

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
on 1 August (HL9596), whether ministers have discussed with their counterparts the
conditions under which British nationals are held in Turkish jails; and whether any
complaints have been raised by them over the way Turkish nationals in British jails
have been treated in the last five years.

<p>No Ministerial level discussions have taken place with their counterparts on the
conditions of Turkish prisons where British nationals are held. As mentioned on 1
August, a detained British national can contact our Embassy with any concerns about
prison conditions and impact on their welfare. Consular staff will then raise these
concerns directly with the appropriate authorities. We are not aware of any complaints
raised by the Turkish authorities in the past five years with regards to the treatment
of Turkish nationals in British jails.</p>

<p>The Home Office publishes data on the number of applications and initial decisions,
broken down by nationality, in table as_01_q (volume 1 of the asylum tables) in the
quarterly <em>Immigration Statistics</em> publication. The latest figures, up until
June 2018, are available at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-june-2018"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-june-2018</a></p><p>Data
on ethnicity are not available.</p><p>Table 1: Asylum applications, initial decision,
and grants on asylum applications from Sri Lankan nationals, 2008 to June 2018</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total
applications </strong></p></td><td><p><strong> Total initial decisions </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>
Total grants </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2008</strong></p></td><td><p>1,473</p></td><td><p>874</p></td><td><p>206</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2009</strong></p></td><td><p>1,115</p></td><td><p>1,251</p></td><td><p>190</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2010</strong></p></td><td><p>1,357</p></td><td><p>1,612</p></td><td><p>228</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2011</strong></p></td><td><p>1,756</p></td><td><p>1,604</p></td><td><p>323</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2012</strong></p></td><td><p>1,744</p></td><td><p>1,384</p></td><td><p>333</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2013</strong></p></td><td><p>1,811</p></td><td><p>1,287</p></td><td><p>262</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2014</strong></p></td><td><p>1,292</p></td><td><p>1,217</p></td><td><p>157</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2015</strong></p></td><td><p>961</p></td><td><p>1,537</p></td><td><p>179</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2016</strong></p></td><td><p>845</p></td><td><p>731</p></td><td><p>44</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2017</strong></p></td><td><p>690</p></td><td><p>645</p></td><td><p>49</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2018
(Jan-Jun)</strong></p></td><td><p>261</p></td><td><p>302</p></td><td><p>22</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>1.
Grants include grants of asylum, discretionary leave, humanitarian protection, and
grants under family and private life rules.</p><p>2. Decisions made in a given year
does not necessarily relate to the number of applications in the same year. Applications
are based on the date of application and decisions are based on the date of initial
decision.</p><p>3. Data include main applicants only.</p><p>4. Data for 2018 include
6 months of data only (Jan-Jun). This is the latest period that is publically available.</p>

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will meet with senior officials from
Govia Thameslink to discuss the provision of automatic replacement services to London
Kings Cross to ensure passengers can get to London when the Peterborough to Horsham
line is blocked.

<p>Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) and Network Rail have agreed service recovery plans
in place that are activated depending on the specific incident, its location on the
network, destination and time of day.</p><p> </p><p>Recognising the potential impact
of delays on passengers these plans will typically balance trying to get the maximum
number of passengers to their destination as quickly as possible, recovering the delays
whilst also attempting to ensure no further delays and obstructions are introduced
across the network. There will be times that these plans need to be adapted to suit
the situation and scale of the incident. As such it is important that decisions are
taken by operational staff within Network Rail and GTR as they are best placed to
understand the potential impact on passengers on a case by case basis.</p>

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on
17 July (HL9180), what is the process for collecting the Heavy Goods Vehicle Levy
(HGV) levy from lorries from the Republic of Ireland; and what assessment they have
made of whether, and if so to what extent, lorries from the Republic of Ireland evade
the HGV levy.

<p>Lorry drivers from the Republic of Ireland pay for the HGV Levy in the same ways
as users from other countries. The levy can be paid online, at a number of official
Point of Sale (PoS) locations, at driver self-serve facilities offered by some operators
and through a number of booking agents. The majority of levy purchases are via the
HGV Levy website.</p><p> </p><p>The overall compliance rate for foreign vehicles is
high, according to figures collected by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency in
Great Britain, at 95%. The Department for Transport has not produced equivalent compliance
rates by country of origin, but there are indications that vehicles from Ireland in
Great Britain have a very similar compliance rate compared to vehicles from other
countries.</p>

To ask Her Majesty's Government, futher to the answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford
on 12 July (HL Deb, cols 963–5), what are their reasons for not establishing an inquiry
into Operation Conifer conducted by the Wiltshire Police into allegations against
Sir Edward Heath.

<p>I recognise concerns that have been raised by Noble Lords in relation to Operation
Conifer, however it is for locally-elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to
decide how best to hold their forces to account, and PCCs have the powers to commission
an inquiry, should they deem it appropriate. The Government has no plans to launch
an inquiry into Operation Conifer.</p>

To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to deferring the
date that inheritance tax becomes payable on the home of two blood-related joint owners
until the death of the second of those two persons.

<p>All individuals benefit from a £325,000 tax free threshold for inheritance tax.
On certain assets, inheritance tax can be paid in instalments over a ten-year period.
This includes situations where the estate contains a house, provided that the house
remains unsold.</p><p> </p>